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Magnetostratigraphical dating of loess deposits in China

Abstract

The age of Chinese loess deposits has long been disputed. Biostratigraphical and earlier magnetostratigraphical investigations placed the entire loess formation within the Pleistocene. The new palaeomagnetic measurements reported here on a bore hole section near Lochuan (Shaanxi province) suggest a clearly defined magnetic polarity zonation which extends below the Olduvai subchron. A late Pliocene age of 2.4 Myr is assigned to the oldest loess sediments measured. The intensity variations of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) and low field magnetic susceptibility are indicative of climatic changes during loess deposition.

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Heller, F., Tung-sheng, L. Magnetostratigraphical dating of loess deposits in China. Nature 300, 431–433 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/300431a0

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